Bizarre dog theft warning

TWO dogs have been taken from outside shops and then dumped elsewhere in the past week.

Over the last few days police have had two reports of dogs being taken while tied up outside stores in the Dumfries area.

Back on Saturday December 29, a dog was taken from outside Tesco Extra at Cuckoo Bridge in Dumfries. It was found later that day nearby minus it’s collar and lead.

The second theft occurred yesterday afternoon when a Jack Russell, Shih Tzu cross was taken from outside the Premier Shop, Aucehncrieff Road, Locharbriggs. Again this dog was later found running loose in the Rashgill area later the same day.

Constable Ryan Kirk based in Dumfries said: “The reason these dogs have been taken is not known, it may have been a prank or a genuine effort to steal them. We believe different people were responsible on each occasion and while both dogs were traced later the same day, it’s obviously very worrying for the owners when they discover their dog missing.”

A similar series of incident took place in 2014 when police issued a warning to dog owners in the region to take care of their pets when visiting supermarkets or shops.

It followed a number of cases whereby dogs left tied up outside shops, while the owners are inside shopping, were released from their leads.

In one case, a Border terrier was released from a car which was unlocked, and in other cases a Jack Russell terrier and a Staffordshire terrier were released from leads while they were tied up outside. All occurred at the Morrisons store in Dumfries.

The dogs were later found wandering around other supermarket stores car parks, one at Tesco at Cuckoo Bridge, one at the Peel Centre and the third at the Tesco on the Lockerbie Road, all quite some distance from where they were last seen.

In another case, a Bedlington whippet, which had been tied up outside the Cooperative in Annan was taken, and this dog later turned up wandering around 16 miles away at the Morrisons car park in Dumfries.

Get the full story in the Annandale Observer
Next issue published Friday 31st May 2019.